★★★★☆ Only T. Kingfisher...

Bryony and Roses

T Kingfisher

...would make Beauty and the Beast into a horror novel in which rutabagas are heroes.

We all know the story of Beauty and the Beast, of course. At least we know the Disney version. But fear not! Gaston does not appear in Bryony and Roses. In fact, it seems to have been conceived not so much as a Beauty and the Beast retelling as a sequel to Robin McKinley's second Beauty and the Beast retelling, Rose Daughter. (Although I read Rose Daughter, it was many years ago and I probably missed some of the finer points of Bryony and Roses in consequence of not remembering the details of McKinley's earlier novel.)

Bryony, caught in a snowstorm, finds her way to The House. Not just any house, it is very much The House, with capital letters. She and her pony take shelter from the snow, and they are warmed and fed by The House. As Bryony leaves she takes a rose from the table to bring home to her sisters. A Beast jumps out at her and berates her for taking the rose. He tells her that she must return to The House and stay with him. Aficionados will note several deviations from canon already.

However, the next bit will be very familiar. I'm not going to treat this as a spoiler, since I assume everyone knows the story of Beauty and the Beast. She lives with the Beast for months, and she grows fond of him. Every evening at dinner he asks Bryony to marry him, and she of course says no.

But there are deep mysteries in play. The Beast is forbidden to answer questions about his past. Forbidden? By whom? And subject to what sanctions? The House seems conflicted -- it is usually eagerly helpful, all Bryony need do is ask for something, and she has it -- but it also has a dark side -- literally. When Bryony or the Beast act in forbidden ways, the lights go out. And Bryony begins to have dark dreams.

As in the canonical story, The Beast allows Bryony to return home to visit her sisters, but she must not stay long. She returns at the last moment, and we get a knockdown drag-out fight and the mysteries are finally revealed.

Do we really need another Beauty and the Beast retelling? Well, I, for one, am glad to have this one. It is infused with Kingfisher's usual quirkiness, and is not only funny, but also exciting near the end.

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